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Horace Mann
Horace Mann was the founder of the Common School Movement which ensured that every child received a basic education that was to be funded by local tax payers. Mann believed that political and social peace relied on people being educated. He was also very influential in founding teaching schools and promoting the idea that teaching was a profession. Horace Mann's idea of Universal Schooling educated generations of the American society and it is the basis for education in our country still today. -
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Dorothea Dix
Dorothea Dix was an influential American woman known for her work in women's education and human rights. She is accredited for her research and action against the American prison system where criminals and the mentally ill were housed together. Prisons were unregulated, unsanitary and inhumane. Dorothea brought evidence and research of these conditions to the MA legislature and her actions led to the Asylum movement and lasting improvement of treatment towards inmates and the mentally ill. -
The Second Great Awakening
The Second Great Awakening was a religious revival in the early 19th century that encouraged people to rekindle their personal relationships with God. People attended "camp meetings" where religious figures would come and preach for a few days at large gatherings of people. The meetings were very emotional and influenced many people to convert to Baptist and Methodist organizations. More people began to dedicate their lives to God which influenced abolition, temperance, and suffrage movements. -
American Temperance Society
The American Temperance Society was founded by Dr. Justin Edwards and Lyman Beecher. The society believed that the consumption of alcohol was the cause for poverty, crime, spousal abuse, and unemployment. By the late 1830's, the society had over 1,500,000 followers who pushed for abstaining from drinking alcohol and eventually wanted national prohibition rather than voluntary abstinence. They believed that by outlawing alcohol, society would become less impoverished and more humanized. -
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Communal Groups
Arising in the early 19th century, communal groups were utopian societies that were characterized by a leader with secular religious or moral views and communal living that challenged the societal norm on subjects such as labor, marriage, sex, women's rights, and government. Hundreds of communal groups were founded during the 1800's with the purpose of creating environments that focused on individuals and simple living rather than the bustling industrial life of the current american society. -
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The Underground Railroad
The Underground Railroad was an organization that helped slaves escape to freedom in the north. Slaves would travel at night on the specified routes and hide in the day at designated stations. Many people were a part of the organization including members of the free black community, abolitionists, philanthropists, and church leaders. The railroad helped thousands of slaves escape to freedom. One former slave, Harriet Tubman, made 19 trips on the railroad and helped with the escape of 300 slaves. -
The American Anti-Slavery Society
Founded by William Loyd Garrison in 1833, the Society consisted of nearly 200,000 members who were opposed to slavery. They sponsored meetings, held lectures, adopted resolutions, signed and sent antislavery petitions to congress, published journals and pamphlets that argued against slavery, and had agents working in the north and south to promote their message. -
Civil Disobedience
Written by transcendentalist Henry David Thoreau, the essay challenged capitalism, the Mexican War, and slavery. Thoreau wrote Civil Disobedience after he was forced to spend a night in jail after refusing to pay taxes that supported the Mexican War. The Essay was widely published and influenced people's views on slavery. It caused the American people to question the justification of slavery and the agenda of the American government. -
Seneca Falls Convention
The Seneca Falls Convention was the first women's rights convention held in the United States. Arranged by Lucretia Mott and Elizabeth Cady Stanton the convention drew in over 200 women and 40 men, including Frederick Douglass. The Declaration of Sentiments was read and 12 resolutions were passed which called for specific rights that should be granted to women. After the Seneca Falls Convention, national women's rights conventions were held annually. -
The Declaration of Sentiments
Written and read by Elizabeth Cady Stanton at the Seneca Falls Convention, The Declaration of Sentiments outlined and called for equal rights between men and women. The declaration was written based off the Declaration of Independence and the first line reads "We hold these truths to be self-evident;that all men and women are created equal; that they are endowed by their Creator with certain inalienable rights; that among these are life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness".
